GROVELAND, Calif.
(AP) — As firefighters make progress containing a raging wildfire in and
near Yosemite National Park, officials have turned to unmanned aircraft
to monitor for unexpected developments.

The California National Guard launched a drone Wednesday in an effort to get an early bead on spot blazes.

Incident
commander Mike Wilkins said Wednesday that the unmanned MQ-1 aircraft
already is giving ground-based crews a birds-eye view of new
developments.

"Already this morning it's allowed us to see a spot fire we wouldn't have seen," he said.

A similar unmanned NASA aircraft has been used for fire surveys in past years.

The
drone took off from the Victorville Airport in Southern California and
generally flew over unpopulated areas on its 300-mile flight. While
outside of the fire area it will be escorted by a manned aircraft.

Officials
were careful to point out images are being used only to aid in the
effort to contain the Rim Fire burning in the western Sierra Nevada.

Wilkins
said they'll use the information the drone broadcasts to decide in real
time where to deploy resources. They also hope to use it to detect any
changes on the ground that could threaten crews.

In 2009 an
unmanned NASA Predator equipped with an infrared imaging sensor was used
to help the U.S. Forest Service assess damage from a fire in Angeles
National Forest. In 2008 a drone capable of detecting hot spots helped
firefighters assess movement of a series of wildfires stretching from
Southern California's Lake Arrowhead to San Diego.

The Rim Fire has burned through 293 square miles of the Sierra Nevada, destroyed 111 structures and threatened giant sequoias.

Fire officials say they expect full containment in three weeks but that it will burn for much longer than that.

The fire has threatened San
Francisco's water supply at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the only
municipal water supply inside a national park. Stratton said Wednesday
that the fire is burning itself out as it approaches the reservoir and
that crews are lighting back burns on the south side of the reservoir to
push it back into the wilderness area.

Pushed by winds blowing to
the north and east, the largest fire in Sierra Nevada recorded history
has unleashed a smoky haze that has worsened air quality more than 100
miles away in Nevada.

Most of the structures that were destroyed
are tent cabins and other outbuildings, but 11 homes have been lost,
said California fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

On Wednesday
morning, authorities said the blaze was 23 percent contained, with crews
aided by higher humidity continuing to make progress against it
overnight.

"Our crews are getting the upper hand on this fire," Berlant said.

The fire started Aug. 17 and investigators are trying to determine the cause.

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